Surprise, surprise
by foxmccloud12000
Summary: In their first day at the university, James McCleod, a freshman literature student meets a girl which he believes can be the love of his life: Jennifer Walters, also a freshman but in law school. None of them is prepared for what they're about to discover that very night and little do they know that it will change their lives forever...
1. Jennifer Catherine Walters

**Surprise, surprise…**

"At that very moment, the thundering of a shot drowned the room and I felt a sting stabbing me from behind, in my left shoulder. In a reflex, James turned around and threw the metallic jumble to the redhead man standing behind and pointing his weapon at us…"

 **1\. "Jennifer Catherine Walters"**

Do you believe in love at first sight? I'll be honest with you:

I didn't since a while before leaving Washington, a little after I finished high school. However, it all changed for me when I started college. Dad's friends had always told me: "Never say never. Maybe you'll meet the woman of your life there", and also "anything can happen in college. Take nothing for granted, because it'll be an awesome time for you", "Expect anything. You never know when something extraordinary will happen" or things like that, but I never believed them.

I believe I should start from the beginning of my story, since it would be the fairest thing for you, my dear readers. It all begins two weeks before the end of September 2002, when I got my acceptance letter into Empire State University, one of the most prestigious colleges in New York City. Without expecting my parents' response, I looked for a room to rent as cheap and close to campus as I could get, packed my stuff, took my savings (almost eight thousand bucks I kept since I was seven years old from every birthday gift, allowance and Grandpa Lou's graduation gift) and left, never looking back.

My car, an old 1969 Volkswagen Beetle that belonged to my father, and I, traveled the 236 miles that separated both cities in barely six hours (way good for that wonderful car's engine, I would say) and finally settled in Manhattan island, in Chrystie Street 187. It was a very modest dorm building. The only bad thing was that I had to share the bathroom with the other inmates, but it was a good place where I stayed a couple of weeks while I got an apartment to settle in more comfortably.

Of course, the "Big Apple" was totally different from D.C. It's a huge city, even for those who are used to the urban way of life. Everything goes really fast over there and there's no time to doubt; everyone will run you over without even blinking. No one has time and they're always immersed in their particular bubble, isolated from the rest of the world. That turned out to be quite frustrating for me, but I could only adapt to it. It didn't take long, actually, which amazes me.

The day after my arrival, I made my application in the Empire State University (or E.S.U., which is shorter) official. I couldn't believe it. It was one of the best colleges in the country and I got in. Eminences from every field of science, humanities and arts taught there. Names like Reed Richards, Leonard Samson, Curt Connors, among others that went through that university's classrooms and research centers were only some of the ones appearing on the information billboards, science awards' showcase and the local newspapers' front pages.

Once I had my class schedule, I discovered that activities started that very morning, so I rushed into my first subject: "Classic literature: Greek period". I could barely get to the classroom and the lecture had already started. It was a very capacious place, a hall that resembled the shape of a piece of cake. The desks described a semicircle from the lower part, where the professor's desk and the blackboard were, up to the door which I came in. The very moment I chose my spot, right beside the door, and sat down, everyone stared at me closely, even the professor, who stopped his explanation momentarily to look at his watch, give me a look of disapproval and then carry on like nothing happened.

Just as I imagined, the professor cut to the chase. He gave a brief introduction on Greek culture and how it's considered as the origin of much of our present culture. After giving us the textbooks list, he decided to put our Greek mythology knowledge to the test. Using a projector, he showed us a marble sculpture. "Let's see", he started, in a kind of malicious way as he looked at the students and walked up the stairs, "who can recognize this character?". He finally stopped at my desk and stared at me. He fixed his grayish blue eyes on me through his glasses; his round face, mostly covered with a short, dense and somewhat gray-haired beard indicated his academic character, just like his straw-looking hair, short and grey-haired, as well. I could tell he was medium height, maybe a little shorter than me by a few inches, and had a thick body constitution that matched that of his age and occupation, being a person who had devoted his life to cultivating his mind instead of his body.

"What do you have to say, young man?", he inquired, resting his hand on my desk. "Do you know who that is?". I felt everyone's eyes on me. I glanced quickly at them and then looked back to the teacher, who was convinced that I wouldn't answer, so he started walking again, turning his back on me.

\- It's Palas Athena, professor – I answered, raising my voice –, the Greek goddess for warfare, civilization, wisdom, strategy, arts, justice and ability. She's known for always being present during battle, carrying Nike, the goddess of victory, in her right hand, godfathering the winning side.

The professor kept his eyes on me as I continued explaining, while turning his malice into amazement each second that went by.

\- Tell me, young man, do you know any of her epithets? – he inquired with malice.

\- I only remember her being called "owl-eyed", since she had green eyes, like the bird, which was also associated to wisdom.

He nodded with satisfaction as he resumed his march towards the lower part of the classroom to continue talking about this deity. I couldn't take my eyes off the picture, as I imagined the color of her eyes staring at me. For some reason, I always considered her as the kind of woman I felt attracted to. I don't know, it's just how I believe women are and should be: strong, intelligent, cultured and skillful. The rest of the period revolved around the origin of the Greek gods and a sneak peek of how lectures would be from then on, to conclude afterwards. Once he picked up his things, he slowly climbed the stairs to my desk and stopped.

"I was wrong about you, young man", he said misgivingly, "and you've showed me that you probably have great potential. Do not disappoint me". "I won't", I answered as I shook my head. "By the way", he added, "I don't usually tolerate tardiness", he went on calmly, "but I will make an exception just this time. From now on, get here on time, agreed?". I nodded slowly, he responded with a subtle arching of eyebrows and carried on. The moment he left, I took my right hand to my forehead, trying to cover my eyes with frustration, as I slowly went down the desk, just like I was letting myself go down to the floor. While I did this, my glasses fell a little, so I immediately took my hand off there.

Everyone started to go out the classroom after the professor did. However, a figure stood right before my desk and stayed there for a while. I looked up to see who it was. It turned out to be a girl and she kept watching me with disapproval in her eyes. It was hard for me to determine her height, because she was one step below me. Her skin was white, she had a light brown, straight hair that fell a bit below her shoulders, a delicate and profiled nose, which fit perfectly with her well-defined cheeks. Her blue eyes were staring at me, with a quite ironic smile that stressed the disapproval in her look. I put my glasses back to their place with my index finger as our eyes met.

\- Quite a first day, huh? – she said with a tinge of sarcasm in her voice.

\- Sure looks so – I answered in dryness.

\- Make sure it doesn't happen again – she added, changing her scolding tone for a much friendlier one.

I just nodded mildly as I twisted my mouth in a grin. On the other hand, she smiled happily as she reached out her right hand to me.

\- I'm Vanessa – she said, introducing herself.

\- James – I answered, grasping it.

\- Well, James, since you just enrolled, I'm sure you didn't read the billboard. The next period, "Language morphology", is suspended for today. The teacher is still on vacation, so there won't be any more class until tomorrow.

\- Wow – I mumbled –, thanks.

She just smiled and left the classroom. It was only ten o' clock, so I had the rest of the day for me and myself only. I took my backpack and took off. Since I had enrolled in a rush, I decided to rest a little until noon and then I'd go look for a decent apartment to rent. I picked up my notebook and left the classroom. I wanted to explore the campus and become acquainted with my alma mater, which I shared with another 15.000 students. The first and only place I visited that day was the library. The building stood at the end of the property, some feet away from the street and almost half a block from the subway entrance.

Once I had walked around and seen how big it was, I decided to come in and take a look at the facilities, but I had to return to the entrance. I undoubtedly couldn't keep my eyes off the structure's facade as I walked around it. It was made out of red bricks, like most of the buildings in New York. I was spellbound by it as I walked under the shadow of two trees. Right at that moment, I tripped on something and fell hard against the grass, hitting my chin on the ground. My glasses flew off my face, falling one feet away from me. I put my left hand on the grass and got to raise up a few inches as I grabbed my sore chin with my right hand.

It took me a while to react and, after a few moments, I took my glasses and turned around to see who I had tripped on. Lying against the tree there was a girl, her expression was that of pain. Her left leg was extended while the other one was flexed, her sole resting on the grass. She had closed her eyes in pain and rubbed her right knee. I rushed to her. "Are you OK?", I asked nervously and worried at the same time.

She just moaned softly in pain while she pressed her lips together. Moments later, she opened her left eye and looked at me quickly, just to close it again. I could swear I had seen an emerald green bright in her eye, but she finally exhaled and looked at me again. I realized it was brown. She seemed angry for a while, but she smiled lightly later.

"Are you alright?", I babbled, ashamed. She tried to look at me in anger, but she couldn't hold herself anymore and bursted in laughter. I looked puzzled at her while she laughed.

\- I'm sorry – she laughed – but I couldn't help it. You looked like you were about to have a heart attack!

\- Really? – I inquired innocently.

She looked at me a bit impatiently while still smiling. She then shook her head as she sighed.

\- Are you in this planet? – she asked impatiently while she snapped her fingers – It was a joke!

\- Yes… yes – I answered while shaking my head -. I'm here.

\- Doesn't look like it – she replied, extending her hand so I could help her stand up.

While she was standing, a red jacket and a book fell off her lap to the grass, while I repeated her last comment in my mind. Actually, she was right. I was somewhere else. In fact, I was spellbound to the sight of her. Looking at her brown eyes through the crystals in her glasses captivated me. Her short, brown hair, which reached down to her earlobe, seemed beautiful to me, and it looked shiny and silky. Her beautiful and delicate nose matched perfectly to her thin face. Her cheeks stood out each time she smiled and little dimples formed close to the corners of her mouth each time she did it. Her height was medium, her complexion slim. She looked fragile and feminine at the same time. She was wearing a white blouse with a golden pin close to her neck, she had a black skirt just above her knees and wore pantyhose with red low-heeled shoes.

Suddenly, she fixed her eyes on me. Actually, not because they corresponded my spellbound look, that of someone who falls in love for the first time. No. It was the look of someone who waited. When I reacted by lowering my vision a bit, I noticed her right hand extended to me again. This time, she meant to introduce herself.

\- So? – she asked, impatiently – Don't you have a name?

\- Yes, yes. Sorry. – I rushed to answer while shaking her hand –. My name is…um…

Yes: at that moment, I suffered a mental lapse. I had forgotten my own name like the biggest of idiots. I finally reacted and shook my head.

\- I'm… McCleod – I stammered –… Ja-James McCleod.

\- Nice to meet you, "McCleod, James McCleod" – she repeated laughing and using the same serious tone I had used to introduce myself -. I'm Jennifer Catherine Walters.

I didn't need to look at a mirror to see how much of a fool I was making out of myself at that moment. I gulped heavily and tried to look more relaxed.

\- James Sullivan McCleod – I said casually while I dedicated her a friendly smile –.

\- It's a pleasure to meet you – she replied, smiling back.

Right then, she sat again on the grass and beckoned me to join her, so I did. She took her book and the jacket back to her lap. She was about to open her book, "Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader", but she changed her mind. She took a leaf right beside her and used it as a bookmark. Then left the volume on the ground and looked at me closely. All that time, I couldn't stop staring at her. When our eyes met again, I could feel something I hadn't felt for a long time. It was that adrenaline rush running through my veins, indicating the emotion I felt for being close to her. I was attracted to her, no doubt about it, and most importantly: I think I was in love. But I wasn't quite sure.

\- I'm from Los Angeles – she said, breaking the silence –. It's my first year of Law School in here.

\- But U.C.L.A. is a great college – I replied in confusion -. Why didn't you go there?

\- As L.A.'s Sheriff, dad wants to keep me out of trouble – she continued, in a darker voice, as she looked down -. That's why he sent me here.

\- I'm sorry, I – I didn't mean to upset you.

She looked up while smiling. "Don't worry", she said with a renewed joy, "it's not as bad as you think". I smiled back. "You know?", she said casually, changing the subject, "I'm not from here, so, what if you show me around one of these days?". I tried to avoid her look, bashfully. "You see", I finally answered, "I don't know the city yet. I'm from Washington and barely arrived yesterday". "Then, I think", she added after laughing a bit, "we could tour together". She looked at me for a few seconds with a smile on her face. I was still spellbound.

The next thing I knew was that it was way over 1 o'clock when we realized. We had been talking about anything for those three hours. She jumped out of the grass and started to pick up her stuff frenetically. "I'm so late for work!", she cried while packing her book into her purse and taking her jacket. "Wait", I said, trying to calm her down, "I brought my car. What if I give you a lift?". She smiled softly but, after shaking her head a bit, she came back to her senses. "I'm sorry", she said, "it's too far away from here and I wouldn't make it on time. There's too much traffic to get there. I'll take the subway". She started walking towards the station right away.

\- Wait! – I stopped her halfway to the station.

She turned to see me walk to her while looking desperately inside my backpack for something to write. I finally found a spare passport photo and a pen. I quickly wrote my phone number on the back of the picture and gave it to her. "This is for you to charge me for getting you late for work", I told her in shame. She smiled, then took the book out of her purse and put the photo on the page she had marked with the leaf, the proceeded to put it away again. Her expression shifted when she remembered how late it was. "Thanks!", she said while running away. "Talk to you later!".

I stood there, watching her until she disappeared on the corner. I was certainly stunned. I couldn't erase that smile, those beautiful brown eyes off my mind. I stood there for a couple of minutes, remembering her, until a soft breeze returned me to reality. "I think it's time to go home", I told myself while my stomach growled on hunger. As I walked back to the parking lot, I reviewed every detail of the gorgeous girl I had spent the last hours with. Something told me that we'd meet again soon, and that's exactly how it happened, but… WOW!


	2. The office surprise

**2\. The office surprise**

It had barely been a couple hours when I finally got to the office, after saying goodbye to _him_. During my elevator trip to the office, I couldn't stop thinking about that nice moment I spent in his company. His features, strong but not that much, his kind of straight nose, his black and silky hair, which made me want to stroke it so bad. The blue in his eyes really drew my attention. It could barely be noticed behind his thick glasses, but what I really loved the most was the way his cheeks looked when he smiled. I had fallen for that six foot-four guy and he probably didn't even notice. How long had it been since my last boyfriend? I couldn't remember. No. It wasn't like that. I didn't _want_ to remember. He'd hurt me so bad, I simply decided that I wouldn't let anybody do that again, but, what if _he_ was different? The time to think about it had run out.

The elevator doors opened as I shook my head to return myself to "here and now" at the office. It was time to work and I couldn't think about anything else, especially since I was so late. And so, the strangest, most stressful and most chaotic afternoon of my whole life began; the afternoon that changed my life forever and the one I will never forget.

I had only been working at _Jackson & Orwell_'s law firm, a building six blocks away from Ground Zero. It's one of the most respected firms in the legal environment and its founders, Horace Orwell and George Jackson, are legends, the sharpest lawyers of New York. It's been said that they've helped train attorneys like Matthew Murdock and Franklin Nelson. They confronted lawyers as important as _Jack White_ and _Héctor Báez_ and beat them. Only a year ago, Mr. Orwell died during the 9/11 events, so Mr. Jackson had to take the whole responsibility of the firm. He was a generally tense man, who was even more hysterical than usual that afternoon, and he made sure that everybody knew about it when I had arrived later than my usual entrance time.

He strolled back and forth the halls of the sixth floor, yelling and screaming orders and complaints to everyone who crossed his way. It had been a bad day in court and that kind of things really got to him. He finally arrived to my cubicle, at the end of the hallway. He stood in front of my desk and crossed his arms in the most negative and challenging pose he was able to make. "Jennifer", he started in a low tone of voice, "you know that your entrance time is two o'clock, right?". I nodded softly. "Then", he went on, "why the hell did you get here almost at three o'clock!?".

I was about to answer when he stopped me with a movement of his hand. "Don't answer", he said impatiently, "I don't wanna know". He took a deep breath and continued: "We have to take the folders of the Stephbourne case back to the cases in process archive and the others to the seventh floor. Also, you have to take care of the mail. Don't forget that the Downey Jr. case notes must be transcribed and you have to arrange the files of recently closed cases". I was about to get up and start my duties. "Move it, girl! We don't have all day!", he screamed impatiently, leaving me no chance to do anything else, and then stormed out my office.

My heart was pounding, so I took a deep breath – twice – and started working on everything I had to do that afternoon. When I got to the seventh floor, a shape was leaving the file room. It was Charles Gray. A cocky, recently graduated attorney whose talent had caught Mr. Jackson and Mr. Orwell's attention (when he was still alive) and hired him during his last college year. Since he started working, he had won almost impossible victories, so attracting new and important clients to the firm, which is why his ego is as big as those clients' check book wallets.

His almost 6'3" body occupied nearly the whole door lintel, he was wearing his light gray suit as if it were the uniform of a ship's captain, as if it gave him the right to treat the other employees like garbage (including me). His rigid features went well with the cocky look in his brown eyes, his light brown hair and his cleft chin that could be seen from across the hall, reminding me of that idiotic doll that I always divorced my Barbie from.

As soon as he saw me get off the elevator, he smirked and just stood there, blocking the door so I couldn't pass. Ever since I started working in the firm he had tried to seduce me with his arrogance and pretending to be the rough, successful lawyer that could even depose the chief and take over everything. I don't like that kind of people, though, and all of the six times he had tried to "convince" me of going out with him, I rejected him "delicately": a stomp on his right foot, a kick in his left shin, a cup of hot coffee on his lap, a slap, a nudge on the pit of his stomach and freezing water on his face. Each and every time he came to me in the rudest way you could imagine and after rejecting him, he just said: "Don't worry. Next time you'll want it" and left like a scolded doggy with its tail between its legs, while other lawyers and employees laughed at him.

"Hello, my precious Jenny", he said arrogantly once I was close to him, "Don't tell me that all those files are coming to this room". "Yes", I said with heartfelt anger, trying to get him off me "I'm storing them there. Please, let me in, Gray". He frowned and leaned a little until his nose and mine were almost at the same height. "It's 'Grey: attorney-at-law', 'Assistant Walters', so I expect more respect from you, young lady", he mumbled pretentiously. I squinted and looked at him with all the rage I had in me. "Get off my way", I groaned slowly in a deeper, threatening voice not even I could recognize.

Gray was shocked and somewhat intimidated by what had just happened, so he moved aside and I entered the room as quickly as I could. "You should get your throat checked", he muttered, "You sound sick". My only answer was a puffing "Hmmmph" as I walked to the archives. I was getting ready to arrange the folders when one of them slipped and fell on the floor and all of its contents scattered through the room. "Damn it!", I said to myself very frustrated and then started to pick up the papers one by one. "It's kinda hot in here". It was that idiot Charles, striking again. Shortly after, he opened a window.

I tried to stop him, but it was too late. The air draft had already entered the archive and the papers messed up even worse than they were, while others fell under the furniture, making them even harder to reach. I immediately crouched to get them. "If I get you, Gray…" I roared, "I swear I'll…!". At that moment, Charles yelled from the elevator: "I'm sorry, baby. I'd love to help, but I'm late for Court. You know how this is. Judges don't wait on anyone". Then, the elevator closed. I took a deep breath to relax and started picking the papers off the floor. The most tiresome part was organizing everything again to file it. That took me almost an hour. The worst part of it all was that I had to put them in place because the filing system of that place was a nightmare.

When it was mail time, I made sure that Charles' was as "accidentally" close to his shredder as possible. Most of the rest of the mail went to Mr. Jackson's office, so that task didn't take me more than twenty minutes. When it was time to deliver the boss' mail, I had no other option that entering his office and give it directly to him, since his secretary wasn't there to take it. He was talking on the phone, so I left the envelope pack on his desk and headed the exit. I didn't mean to overhear, but I couldn't help noticing that whomever he was talking to was worried that someone could break into the building to take the files of the case I had just put in the archives. Right at that moment, Mr. Jackson shouted at me dreadfully to leave his office and I couldn't listen to any more of the conversation.

As I left the office, I closed the door behind me and leaned on it. I felt horribly frustrated, angry and my heart pounded. I closed my eyes and started breathing deeply, trying to calm myself. Suddenly, I felt a hand on my shoulder. I opened my eyes to see who it was and Jill Stevens, my best friend, was standing there. Ever since we were little she had been with me, we shared everything and did everything together. We even decided to take the same major and come together to New York. She always looked out for me and assured that no one messed with me.

"Rough noon, Jenny?", she asked with a smile on her face. "Yeah", I sighed, "Just a little more than usual, Jill". She stared at me wating for the truth – Gosh, she knew me so well…! I took a deep breath and started talking: "Since I got to the office today I've been scolded and abused. Besides, I haven't even had lunch and that frustrates me even more! This just couldn't be a day any different from the others. Well…it actually was…" I paused so I could close my eyes and remember James' face. Then continued: "It's just that today…" I blushed at the picture of James' smile in my mind. I smiled back and opened my eyes again. "I met a boy who made me feel really good". Jill frowned a little. "You mean you liked him?", she inquired suspiciously. "Yeah, one could say that".

She shook her head slowly in clear reproach. "Jenny", she started, "you know what happened with Erick. I don't want you going through that again". She was right, but something told me that this time was different. Jill remembered perfectly everything I went through with my last boyfriend and how bad it ended for me. In fact, even though she never admitted it, I knew she had convinced Dad of sending me to New York so I could not seek Erick in a broken-heart attack; but I really didn't mind. I knew she did it for the best and that it helped me get over it. She always took care of me like an older sister, something I've always been grateful for.

"I barely met him today", was my somewhat impatient answer. "I don't even know if he'll behave as horribly as him or not". Jill leaned her head to scold me and I adopted an arrogant attitude in response. "Let's see how he treats me and then we judge him, don't you think?", I finally responded. She just raised her hands in surrender and started walking away. "Just remember you can't let him do whatever he wants with you", she added as she left me, not turning around once. I smirked as the only possible answer to that comment and decided to follow my path to the hallway in order to continue with my tasks.

Next thing on the list was transcribing the notes of the Downey Jr. case, which looked like a thousand lines despite of only being two days old. Not only did I have to do that, but it was my duty to organize everything related to the case according to the defendant's version, since he was our client. That was the really boring and annoying part. It took me almost two hours and a half but I finished it just as my shift ended. I picked up my things and walked to the hallway to wait for the elevator. I ran into Mr. Jackson, who looked at me in an intimidating way.

"Going home so early, Jennifer?". "Early?", I replied. "It's six-thirty, Mr. Jackson. It's the end of my shift". He arched one of his eyebrows in response while he made a face in disapproval. That only meant bad news for me. "Yes", he said with arrogance, "it's true, but only if you had arrived here on time. You must compensate for the two hours you were late for work and by chance I need you to arrange the archive of the cases in process". I was shocked. Was he serious? "I need", he went on, "those files organized by client priority". I dropped my head while he said that. "I want that archive ready first thing in the morning", he added while hopping into the elevator. Then the doors closed. I was frustrated and angry. I leaned against the wall behind me. Jill came to me and put her hand on my shoulder trying to soothe me because she saw everything. "Calm down, Jenny", she said solemnly. "I can stay here to help you if you want". I shook my head as I straightened up. "No, Jill", I replied gloomily. "I rather do this myself. I'm very pissed off and I don't want to vent at you". She knew me very well. She knew that if I asked to be alone it was because I really wanted it. I knew her too and I was sure she was dying to convince me otherwise, but in my mood she knew it was a dead end. She just sighed and took the elevator that had just arrived, saying goodbye to me. I headed to the room where the open cases' file was. It wasn't very big and at least there was a couch to leave my things and a table where I could work comfortably.

In less than thirty minutes everyone in the firm had gone home and the floor where I was working was deserted. It was kind of sullen to be there. I spent the next hour and a half working really quickly and checking folder by folder, from the lowest drawer to the first in the archive. Luckily, we weren't carrying many cases at the time, so I progressed really fast. I finally got to the last drawer and I could soon go home.

I couldn't help revising what I had gone through until that moment. How my day had started in college, the teachers doing the introductory classes for each subject; my encounter with James and those nice hours we spent together talking about anything without getting bored; Mr. Jackson's complaints on my tardiness: that made me upset and I felt my heart racing; then, my encounter with that idiot Charles at the seventh floor and his stupid window prank in the archive room, that made me relive the anger I felt in that moment, which made my heart pound even harder. I could perfectly feel the void in the pit of my stomach, along with the sensation of an adrenaline rush through my body; and finally, I remembered the frustration I felt for not being able to go home. For a second I felt that I was going to scream and turn into a beast because of all the anger I was feeling.

However, something made me stop. The last folder was ready and I had just closed it. Suddenly, all the rage had disappeared, like if a huge concrete blanket left my body. Sudden joy and the relief of finally going home even before I had planned had replaced the anger. I slipped the folder into its corresponding slot inside the drawer and tried to close it, but it got stuck. I pushed it and nothing happened. I tried harder and it refused to move. I finally hit it with my right hand and only hurt my knuckles. I accepted the fact that it wouldn't close, so I put my hand on the edge and simply supported my weight on it, looking for a way to solve that problem, but the drawer slid and closed abruptly, catching my hand. The pain was intense. I could barely get it out because the drawer was stuck again.

The back of my hand hurt so much. I covered it instinctively with my left hand while I protected it on my lap. The pain was terrible. When I moved my left hand, I saw I had an open wound and blood poured as the burning sensation started. Fury and frustration returned, this time with even more intensity, and I pierced the air with a raging cry. That was the last straw.

A headache started. It was a piercing, strong and constant pain. I couldn't concentrate and the only thing I could do was instinctively taking my hands to my temples. I suddenly felt my vision blurring as the headache became stronger and stronger, so much that I couldn't keep my eyes open. I knew that something was happening to my body, because each of my muscles was tense, like cramping, and I could feel my clothes tightening. After that, the pain became so intense that I could not concentrate on anything else.

I tried to open my eyes with all my might. I finally made it and could feel the cold of my tears drying up my cheeks. Each of my muscles hurt a lot and my fingers were cramped because of the tension. I lowered my hands to my eyes. They were pale, even greenish, like if I was sick. Everything was spinning, so I closed my eyes again. The clothes tightened even more each time. I felt the sleeves of my jacket shrinking until they adjusted to my arms and started shredding. I breathed harder every time and every inhalation I took made me feel stranger and stranger: the pain became more intense, but I felt invigorated and filled with energy at the same time. "Somebody help" I whispered in the middle of that confusing state. I fell on my knees to the floor, defeated by pain. I heard the fabric of my clothes shredding as my body kept growing. I was scared…more like terrified. I thought I was going to die right there. My jacket tore every second that passed and every breath I took, until it finally became reduced to shreds. Moments after that, my blouse started to suffer the same fate, starting with the golden pin I was wearing on my neck, which got shot out like a projectile. I writhed in pain when I felt heavy cramps on my abdomen, almost forcing me to hit my forehead against the floor. With the violence of that movement, my glasses fell to the floor. My skirt was trapping my legs until it began to shred as well. I got to rest my hands on the floor. My head still hurt, but not as much, weirdly. My shoes squeezed my feet too much until they tore apart. I felt something fall to the sides of my head. "It's my hair", I told myself, trying to keep calm. "To the sides? But I wear it short!", I thought. Little by little, the headache disappeared, though I still panted like I was exhausted, but felt better and better as I breathed; still, I was a little dizzy.

Finally, after what seemed to me like an eternity, everything was over. I could open my eyes. I was still crouching on the floor and still felt disoriented. I stood up as I could, leaning on the archive. I kept my right hand on the piece of furniture just in case I lost my balance again. I didn't quite know the significance of what had just happened to me until I saw my right hand on the metallic surface: it was green! However, the most astonishing thing was that the wound was no longer there, just the coagulated blood at the back of my hand.

Then, I raised both hands and looked and them in terror. They were emerald green! The muscles in my arms were athletic and were well defined. I looked down and saw the rest of my body. My feet, bare and the same color of my arms (the worst thing was that I had just bought that pair of shoes for a fortune!), looked further than usual. Actually, the whole room looked a little smaller than before that weird transformation occurred. I could notice everything looked clear and sharp, even without my glasses on. It was all too strange. My hair, now as long as it almost reached my waist, was dark green and was all messy. My skirt was ragged so my legs, now as athletic as my arms, could move freely. My blouse looked like a sports top. It was really tight and looked too small, it let my belly button out and the neck of the blouse was now a "V-cleavage". My bust had also grown considerably.

I jumped on the couch to look for my purse. I took a mirror out of my makeup bag and almost shrieked in horror. My face looked exactly the same but it was as green as the rest of my body and my eyes were no longer brown, but a deep green as well. I dropped the accessory terrorized and walked backwards to the exit. I accidentally hit my head against the lintel. I felt absolutely nothing, which made me think that I had lost sensibility. I stroked my hand over to make sure it wasn't like that. I could feel the movement, which discredited my theory. I hit my head as hard as I could with my index finger just to make sure. It actually hurt.

I stood there for a moment, trying to figure out what had just happened; nevertheless, I couldn't understand anything. Was it all real? Was it a delusion because I hadn't had lunch? Were there bacteria in the air ducts? It all seemed like a nightmare I couldn't wake up from. My body had changed dramatically in less than five minutes. From 5'9" I turned to almost 6'7" and even though I was much more athletic, I kept looking very feminine. That didn't diminish the fact that I felt like a monster, though.

I returned to the couch and looked frenetically for my cellphone. I did my best to dial Jill's number. My nerves kept me from dialing correctly, and my now-bigger fingers didn't help either. After some trying, I finally got to call my friend. Agonic seconds went by as the call connected, but it kept sending me to voice mail. I tried twice and got the same result. Heartbroken, I let myself fall on the couch. My purse twisted and fell on me, all of its contents falling to the floor, including the book I had taken to college. James' picture came out of it and placed on my lap.

I looked at it for a while. "Do I really want to call him?" I wondered without taking my eyes off his face. "I've got nothing to lose", I replied myself. I carefully dialed the number that was written on the back of the photograph and pressed the "Call" button. I hung up immediately. "What is he going to think when he sees you, Walters!?", I told myself, trying to be reasonable.

I stared at my phone's screen, then decided to try to reach Jill one more time, but got to her voice mail once again. I looked for James' number again and called. The ringing tones started and my heart began to rush while waiting for him to pick up. "Don't freak out for me, James", I begged him as if we were already talking, while the tones continued. "Please", I continued as tears ran down my cheeks.


	3. Night riddle

p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-align: center; line-height: 150%;" align="center"strongspan lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; font-family: 'Century Gothic','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: ES-VE;"3. Night riddle/span/strong/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-align: center; line-height: 150%;" align="center" /p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-align: center; line-height: 150%;" align="center" /p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"Since we said goodbye at noon there was no way I could get her out of my head. I spent the whole afternoon thinking about her, though I have to admit that I behaved like a teenager (well, actually, like a 12-year-old, since I was almost a teenager). I walked about the whole room trying to get used to the idea that she wouldn't call me because I simply wasn't her type. Then I started to tell myself that she would do it and I was possibly filling my own head with negative ideas. I couldn't take it anymore and decided to exercise in order to get calmed. I remembered that Albert Stern, one of dad's friends, told me that the best place to do any physical activity in New York was Central Park. "The paths and green areas are so immense", he said, "that if you want to run out of energy, that's the place to go"./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""Alright", I told myself, "if that's the case, then Central Park it is". I changed clothes to something a little more comfortable for exercise, stowed another change of clothes in a backpack, just in case, and got out of the room. At the building's entrance, Mr. Ditkovich, the owner, stopped me abruptly./p  
p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"- Rent! – He said in his striking Ukrainian accent… I think it was Ukrainian… –/p  
p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"- Ummm – I responded, unguarded – … I thought you said… –/p  
p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"- Weekend! – He continued – em style="box-sizing: border-box;"Rrrrent/em is paid weekend. Have it em style="box-sizing: border-box;"rrrready/em! –/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"I nodded, while insinuating a smile. His face remained expressionless the whole time. He just stared at me for a moment and then went up the stairs, grumbling in his native language. I shrugged and left the building. It was three o'clock when I headed to Central Park. Just as Brandon Howard, another friend of my dad, had said: "The traffic in the city is so dreadful, you could be stuck for hours in there". He was right. It was five-forty when I finally made it./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"I left the car in a parking lot at the East of 90th street, put on my earplugs and walked to the park. I started jogging around a huge lake that almost took up Central Park's total width. I followed the signs and knew it was the em style="box-sizing: border-box;"Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Reservoir/em. I wasn't very sure of its dimensions, but I know it took me almost fifteen minutes to surround it at a constant pace. When I realized, I had taken about eight laps around the circuit and it was more than eight-o-clock. I was exhausted./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"As soon as I returned to my starting point, I stopped jogging and looked for my car. Once I did, I took a towel out of my backpack and started to dry the sweat off my forehead and face. I took my t-shirt off and dried my torso. I looked at my body on the reflection of the car's crystal. I stared at the scars that barely stuck out of my right side. My mind returned to the event that caused them momentarily. Quick and violent images: I'm inside the van that rolls over and the noise of shattering crystals and twisted metal accompanied the chaotic scene; as her black hair rocked as violently as my surroundings./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"Right then, a motorcycle's exhaust pipe echoed all over the place and took me back to reality with a gasp, making me feel a bit disoriented. I was breathless, and not precisely because of jogging for more than two hours. I finished cleaning up, put on some deodorant and a clean t-shirt. I noticed I had another one in the bag. "I must've been distracted", I told myself, giving little importance to that detail, and carried on. I was about to lock inside the car to put on some pants when my attention got carried away to my cellphone: an old 5125 Nokia that I had been forced to use some weeks ago and couldn't get the chance to replace. I checked it and the missed calls indicator showed a number two. When I started checking the numbers, a call entered and I immediately answered./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""Yes? Who is this?" On the other side, only breathing was heard. Actually, it was sobbing. I became alert, pressing the device against my ear with my right hand so I could improve my hearing of the background noises. "Who's there?", I asked again, this time much more alarmed./p  
p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"- J-James? – a very familiar feminine voice asked on the other side of the line./p  
p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"- Jennifer? – I inquired bluntly. I was sure I had recognized her voice./p  
p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"- Y-yes, it's me – she answered while sobbing./p  
p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"- Jennifer, what's wrong? Is everything all right?/p  
p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"- No. Something…something…something hap…/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"Suddenly, she bursted into tears. She sounded desperate, as if something really terrible had happened. I felt a hole in my stomach as I felt a weird tingling starting from my shoulders to my arms and from my thighs to my knees./p  
p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"- Try to breathe, Jennifer – I immediately instructed her – and tell me what happened./p  
p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"- I can't, James – she answered, crying -. Please, help me! I know no one else to turn to! Please…please…please…/p  
p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"- I'm coming – I quickly warned -. Where are you?/p  
p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"- In the Jackson Orwell building – she sobbed – Do you know where it is?/p  
p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"- No, but I'm on 90th street – I answered automatically./p  
p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"- Uummm… - she meditated, disoriented for a moment – if I am right, the easiest way to get here is through the FDR Drive. You must get to the 3rd Avenue and turn left on York Avenue; then, you must take the exit to the FDR Drive and keep going until Exit 2, at Manhattan Civic Center; after that, take the Robert F. Wagner Sr. Place…/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"She kept going with her indications until she guided me to Church Street 33sup style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 13.5px; line-height: 0; position: relative; top: -0.5em;"rd/sup./p  
p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"- You shouldn't get lost – she concluded./p  
p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"- I'll be there soon – I assured her, with a relaxed tone in my voice./p  
p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"- I'm on the sixth floor. Please – she pleaded – hurry up!/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"As soon as the call finished, I felt my blood freezing and my heart pounding. Without even thinking, I got behind the wheel and raced off to the street. In less than half an hour I was already in front of the 10007 of Church Street. It looked just like any other office building. Totally lit inside and out, it stood out because it had a lot more windows than the others. I found a parking spot some feet away, locked the car and entered the building./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"Inside, the lobby was dark, barely lit by the streetlights outside, but the ambiance could be detailed with some clarity. There was a semicircular reception desk a few feet away from the entrance, but no one was there. I announced myself with a loud "Hi" and there was no answer. I waited a few seconds in case somebody came, but no one did. Behind the desk, the building lobby was huge. There were billboards in a wall to the right side and, below these, sofas with three spots for people to wait. In front of them, there was a crystal wall that sheltered a small garden lit by a couple of spotlights. On the wall directly in front of the entrance, there was a closed double door. "Rio's Rancheros" could be read on a sign over the door's lintel and the business was obviously closed because of the time./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"When turning left, a small hallway could be seen. To the right side there were elevators, to the front there was another hallway with the emergency stairs access, but I ignore where it led, since I was more interested on getting to the elevators. I went up to the sixth floor and took a right to a small corridor that led to an enormous room full of work cubicles. The only thing I could hear was the buzzing of electronic devices still on./p  
p class="MsoListParagraph" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"- Jennifer? – I called./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"There was no answer, or at least it didn't seem like it. I was about to call for her again when I finally heard her voice, choked by the fabric walls of the cubicles./p  
p class="MsoListParagraph" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"- Over here – It seemed as if she was in the back of the great office./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"I walked towards the wall at the end of the huge room and saw an open door, but the interior was dark./p  
p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"- Jennifer? – I repeated, standing on the door – Are you there?/p  
p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"- Yes – she responded in a grim whisper./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"I was about to come in when she stopped me./p  
p class="MsoListParagraph" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"- Please – she cried – don't come in yet. I don't know if you're prepared for this./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"There was something funny about her voice. It sounded a bit different than that in the morning of that very day. Maybe a little lower. Just a little; but still perceivable to me./p  
p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"- What do you mean, Jennifer? – I inquired./p  
p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"- I don't even know it myself – she sobbed -. I don't know what happened…/p  
p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"- I'll turn on the lights – I interrupted as soon as I found the light switch on the wall./p  
p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"- NO! – She roared – Please… - her voice turned into a whisper again - don't./p  
p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"- But I can't help you this way!/p  
p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"- I don't know if you're ready for this./p  
p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"- I'll turn on the lights, Jennifer. Whatever happens, I will help you./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"Just as I pushed the switch, the whole room lit up and the most incredible vision of my whole life revealed to me: an Amazon silhouette, about 6'6" high, an athletic and well-defined, but still very feminine, body. Her hair was long; it ended just above her waist and it was completely messy, like she had head banged for a long time. Her clothes were completely torn: a V-neck blouse which was obviously ripped, had no sleeves and looked too small on her, so her bellybutton could be seen; the skirt that was just a little above her knee now reached only half of her thighs and ripped in a "V", showing her naked legs and bare feet./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"Another "tiny" detail was her skin, which was now emerald green, just like her eyes. Her hair was green, too, only much darker, and it could barely be noticed when the light hit on it. I was astonished. The face of that Amazon was still Jennifer's. I could recognize her even after that radical change the rest of her body had somehow experienced. Her expression was that of fear. Needless to say, my possible reaction was its detonator./p  
p class="MsoListParagraph" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"- J-Jennifer…- I babbled - is that you?/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"Her look turned sad and she started to cry, falling to her knees while covering her face with both hands. "Well done, McCleod", I scolded myself as I facepalmed myself. Right after that, I got closer to her, kneeled by her side and hugged her. Her immediate reaction was hugging me back and dipping her face on my chest, while crying bitterly and saying "I'm a monster" over and over again. I hugged her tighter as she bursted into tears./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"We stayed like that for some minutes; then, when she felt more relaxed, she wiped off her tears and sat on the floor./p  
p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"- How did this happen, Jenn? – I asked./p  
p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"- I have no idea – she whispered -. It just…happened./p  
p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"- Do you have any idea why?/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"She just shook her head while staring down again and closing her eyes as a sign of downheartedness. I put my index finger on her chin and made her look up. When she put her eyes on me, I dedicated a smile to her, just to cheer her up a little, and she smiled back. I stared at her for a moment. Despite the obvious physical differences compared to the girl I had met hours earlier, she was the same. Her eyes, despite being of another color, inspired the same confidence and kept fascinating me. Her cheeks looked exactly the same as they did at noon and her smile was still beautiful. In short: she was the same gorgeous girl I had fallen for that very morning. Well, she was green now, of course./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"Suddenly, her look changed dramatically. She was alert./p  
p class="MsoListParagraph" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"- What's wrong, Jennifer? – I asked when I noticed the alteration./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"She simply instructed me to wait with a sign while lowering her face a little and tilted her head, as if she was trying to identify some kind of sound in the distance./p  
p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"- Did you tell the security guards you were going to be here? – She questioned in haste./p  
p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"- There was no one down there when I got here./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"Right after my answer, she immediately looked back at me. Her expression turned puzzled, with a little bit of fear./p  
p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"- What's going on? – I asked with huge curiosity./p  
p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"- One of the guards is always at the front desk. They never leave it alone, no matter the circumstances – she replied with intrigue -. Now, someone left the elevator and is coming right this way – she carried on with caution -. It's two…no, three of them./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"She stood up and I did the same./p  
p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"- How could you hear that? I don't hear anything – I said, very confused./p  
p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"- em style="box-sizing: border-box;"Shhh…/em – she responded as she made a signal with her hand – here they come./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"It was a matter of instants before we could hear the whispering of three male voices getting closer to the room. I did a gesture to her so she moved to the corner of the wall besides the entrance, between an orange couch and a closet that concealed her well. I did the same, but I stayed beside the entrance. The moment they were about to come in, they stopped. Their shadows had entered the room, but not them./p  
p class="MsoListParagraph" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"- Wait – said a low voice, probably the leader of the trio -. It must be at Jackson's office. Let's search in there./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"Then, the shadows backed off and the voices got away. I peeked out to see if they were security guards or not. They obviously weren't, according to their conversation, but I had to make sure anyway. Three figures walked towards the wall to the right of the cubicles' room. One of them, a redhead, was the tallest of them and the last one in line, walking in contempt and wearing a white jacket; the other two were about my height and had brown hair. They both wore dark jackets, but I couldn't get much detail on the colors, since they were turning left after finding the wall of a cubicle and could see me if I didn't hide quickly./p  
p class="MsoListParagraph" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"- They're definitely not guards – I concluded./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"Jennifer kept an expression of deep concern./p  
p class="MsoListParagraph" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"- They are looking for the file of the Stephbourne case – she replied, a little disoriented -. I just heard them./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"I was puzzled. I was much closer to them and didn't get to hear them the way that she did./p  
p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"- How…? – I began, but she interrupted./p  
p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"- That folder is in this room, but why would they want it? Unless…/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"Suddenly, her eyes shone with the answer./p  
p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"- THAT'S what Mr. Jackson meant this afternoon! – She said, putting the pieces together./p  
p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"- I'm sorry, Jenn – I told her –, but what do you mean?/p  
p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"- My boss, Mr. Jackson – she replied as she shook her head a little, realizing that she had some explaining to do – was on the phone today, talking about somebody taking the folder of a case. These guys must've come to get it./p  
p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"- But, why?/p  
p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"- You see, in these folders we have absolutely every file regarding a case, from the statements and testimonies to the evidence list and where it's kept. If that list fell onto the wrong hands while the trial is in process…/p  
p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"- They would dismiss the case – I interrupted once I understood what was going on./p  
p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"- Precisely./p  
p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"- I'll call the police – I said, taking my cellphone out of the pocket of my sweat pants./p  
p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"- NO! – She rushed – Please…I don't believe they will be as understanding as you about my appearance./p  
p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"- All right, I won't, but we need to stop them./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"I decided to leave the room to find the men and try to stop them. I stood still right before leaving and turned around to look at her. I smiled and winked, too./p  
p class="MsoListParagraph" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"- You stay here, OK? – I instructed in a comforting tone./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"She nodded softly while crossing her arms on her chest. Then I left the room, heading towards the place I believed the men had gone. My heart pounded. Something in my head told me that I was doing something really stupid, that I should have left while I had the chance, but, at the same time, it told me not to leave Jennifer alone to be exposed./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"I shook my head while getting to the corner where I had lost the bad guys. My mind had to be clear if I really wanted to stop them and avoid getting Jennifer uncovered./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"As soon as I got to the cubicles, I could hear the men's voices again. They came from the opposite side, so I moved there cautiously and quickly. Close to the window, a wooden double door was half-open. The voices came from there. The cleaning mop was lying aside of the door, so I took it to attack the men and defend myself if I didn't succeed at subduing them./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"I held my breath and pushed the door very carefully, so it didn't make a sound. I walked into an enormous office, with a desk to the back and a black leather couch. There was a mess of papers on the bureau. To the right, there was a bookshelf that reached the ceiling and a file next to it. In front of the latter and behind me, the guys in the dark jackets jumbled inside the piece of furniture, tossing papers and folders to the air when they realized it was not what they were looking for./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" /p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"I was about to knock them out with the mop's stick, when I heard an unpleasant and not unfamiliar metallic click on my back, making me freeze just inches away from my targets./p 


	4. More office bombshells

**4\. More office bombshells**

I returned to the corner of the room where James had told me to hide and leaned on one of the walls. His presence there soothed me very much and knowing that he would stop those guys calmed me even more. Suddenly, I felt a void in my chest and my heart rushed. "How the hell is he going to stop them!?" I told myself, terrified; "What if they're armed!?". I stood up about to leave my "hiding place" to look for James, when his silhouette returned to the room, tumbling, turning over and falling to the floor. I reached out for him when I saw him fall and was about to get close when the cannon of a gun entered the room, followed by a tall redhead (not taller than me, though), wearing a white jacket.

Two men followed, they were a little shorter than him. One of them wore an olive green jacket and the other a navy blue one. The first of them, pointing his gun, forced James to get up by grabbing his t-shirt with his free hand, while instructing the other two to go to the archives and look for the Stephbourne case folder. I wanted to help. Do something to stop all of it, but I felt powerless. I didn't know what to do to save James. The redhead made him walk back a few steps until his back was against the wall in front of me, while James looked at me occasionally, trying to keep me calm. His face looked peaceful, as if he knew nothing bad could happen. Meanwhile, the guy kept pointing the gun at him and ordered to stay still while the others scrambled the drawers that had taken me so long to organize.

Noticing that they took too long, the redhead turned his head momentarily to see what was keeping them from finding the file. Right then, James took advantage of his captor and punched him. Since I was behind the guy, I couldn't see where James hit him, but it must have been in the stomach. He was completely out powered while falling slowly to the floor, his face turning red. The others abandoned their duty immediately to control my friend.

James adopted a fighting-like position: he put a foot in front of the other while getting on their tiptoes; his hands, one to the front and the other at his chest's height, were open. The green jacket guy tried to hit him first. James simply eluded him turning to the side and the foe just kept going, while he gave him a big hit with the side of his hand, directly on the back of his head. The man immediately fell to the floor. The other one got his gun out and was going to shoot James. I left my hiding spot and rushed to grab the guy's hand, so he pointed the gun to the ceiling. He was terrified to see me and stared at me with his jaw falling for some seconds. He had turned pale and, after recovering from the shock, he pointed at me with his finger, just to faint and drop the gun afterwards.

When I opened my hand, the gun was twisted, as if it were made of Play-Doh or something. I turned around to use the lamp's light and see the weapon better. Now it was me who was stunned. "I did that?" I wondered, completely astonished. James came to me and looked at it as shocked as I was. He took it and confirmed its weight. "It's real", he said in shock. "How did you do it?", he asked afterwards. I just shrugged. The truth is, I didn't know how I'd done it either. Right then, the storming of a shot flooded the room and I felt a sting stabbing me from behind, in my left shoulder. James responded quickly by turning around and throwing the metallic mash to the redhead standing behind us and holding his gun towards us.

What moments before was a weapon beat the man right on the forehead, knocking him out almost immediately. Meanwhile, my reaction was to cover the wound on my shoulder as I bent over in pain; but the weirdest thing was that the pain went away almost immediately. Actually, giving it a deeper thought, at that moment the shot felt more like a light hit, as if someone had thrown a small pebble with little strength. James returned to my side to check the wound and his face went from worried to unconceivable astonishment. His jaw dropped. "You…have nothing, Jenn", he babbled. I ran my right hand over the place of the impact and, when I saw it, it was clean. No trace of blood. I turned around and saw a small metallic mash on the floor a few inches from me.

James bent over and picked it up. "It's…", he began, startled while showing me the object, "the bullet…". "The bullet?", I repeated in awe. He simply nodded while admiring it again. "When I lived in the military base in Idaho", he said, in a whisper of skepticism, "they tested the shields on the shooting camp. The bullets ended up looking like this". Listening to that couldn't make me feel any less than a freak. I didn't know what to do. Everything had turned 360 degrees for me. I was a monster and I wouldn't be able to have a normal life. I couldn't help it and started to cry again, falling on my knees. I could feel James' hands on my shoulders from behind. I turned around to see him. He stared at me. He ducked by my side and hugged me. I hugged him back and put my chin on his left shoulder. "James", I sobbed uncontrollably, "I'm a mutant freak!". "You're not, Jennifer", he replied, trying to calm me down. "Oh, yeah?", I questioned in a mix of anger and hopelessness. "Then, if I am not, could you explain why I'm huge, green and bullets can't hurt me?". He just looked at me and surrendered. It was obvious that he didn't have an answer and so he said afterwards. "Right now", he added, "I just know that we should call the police and get out of here. After that, we can try to discover what happened, OK?". I only nodded softly while he dried my tears delicately with his hands. We got up and started to walk towards the room's exit. Suddenly, I remembered my pin. I _had_ to get it back! I found it in the corner next to the file. I was about to go out when I thought about picking up my torn clothes to avoid suspicion from the police. Then, James made a gesture and pointed at my purse and all of its contents scattered on the couch. I started to put everything back in the purse and he came to help. When we were finished we headed to the exit, but then he kept staring at the men who tried to kill us just a while earlier.

"I believe we should make sure that they _don't_ leave", he said with a touch of wickedness in his voice. "How will we do that?", I replied. Suddenly, a malicious smile was drawn on his face. "Where's the supply room?", he asked in a hurry. "Next to the emergency stairs", I answered, "in the elevator hallway". "Sit them so they make a triangle", he told me as he headed to the door. "Back to back!", he added. Minutes later, he came back with the janitor's polishing machine. He unraveled the cable and started to tie the trio with it in a way they wouldn't be able to scape. "Do you think this will hold them back?", I asked. His answer was smiling wickedly as he ducked to do something more: he untied their shoelaces to tie each of their ankles with them. Once he was done, he got up and looked at me with satisfaction while offering me his arm to walk me out of the room.

"Shall we?", he invited, and I accepted by passing my arm around his. We rushed out to the elevators. When we got to the lobby, it was completely dark. James was obviously making an effort to see, but it wasn't hard for me at all. I could see the whole place clearly. I interlaced my fingers with his and we started walking towards the exit. Right then, I could hear soft wails from several voices coming from aside the counter. I stopped James by holding his forearm and whispered to him what I had just heard. Again, he was surprised, since he couldn't hear anything. He took some keys out of his pocket and gave them to me. "Wait in the car", he whispered in haste. "It's the beetle that's parked outside. Don't let them see you". I left the building and, luckily, there wasn't a soul in the street, so nobody could see me get in that tiny car. Good thing the glasses were tinted, so no one would know about me.

It was so hard for me to get in, that I had to adjust the front seat as far as I could to make "room" for me in the back seat and wait for James to return. Time went by slowly and painfully until he finally knocked the driver's window. He got in and locked the door immediately. "That wailing you heard came from the security guards", he announced. "And I have good news", he added with a smile. "Those three guys damaged all of the security cameras, so there's no record of you". "Great", I replied, unexcited, while putting my feet up in the seat and put my arms around my legs. James sighed, opened the door and got down so he could join me in the back seat and lock the door again. He put his right arm around me, I leaned over to him and he hugged me. "James, what if I stay like this forever?", I sobbed. "We'll find a solution for this, you'll see", he answered, trying to give me hope. "First of all", he continued, "we must calm down". "I don't think I can", I replied. "I'm too stressed". He sighed while holding me against his body. "Is there anything that could help you relax?". "Well…", I started quietly, "when I was little, my dad used to calm me down by stroking my hair when I got scared. I used to have it just a little shorter than this. I always loved it". "Would you like me to do it?", he asked sweetly. I simply nodded while lying down on my side and resting my hair on his shoulder.

He started to run his fingers through my long hair, from my hair to almost reaching my waist. When he was doing it for the third time, I couldn't help trembling a little with how good he was making me feel, and I sighed with joy. "Thanks, 'Mac'", I called him tenderly, but then he stopped for a moment. "Don't you want me to call you like that?". He simply seemed to chuckle and kept stroking my hair. "It's not that", he replied a while later. "It's just that I hadn't been called like that in ages". The next minutes we remained silent while he kept stroking me. That relaxed me so much that I started to feel sleepy. I didn't give a damn and let myself go. The next thing I remember is James' voice calling my name. When I finally came to my senses, he looked at me with amazement. I got up and the first thing I noticed was that the car looked a little bigger than when I got in, and everything was blurry. "What happened?", I asked while rubbing my eyes. "The most incredible thing I have ever seen in my life", he replied in a choked whisper. I stared at him puzzled, trying to interrogate him with my look. He simply took my right hand and pulled it up until I could see it for myself: it had come back to its natural color again!"

"How did that happen?". He simply shrugged. "Right after you fell asleep", he said, "you started to change back to normal". The expression of amazement didn't leave his face for a second. I hugged him full of joy, while saying "I can't believe it. I'm not a monster anymore!" When we separated, he smiled at me.

"Let's go!", he urged, "I'll take you home". I nodded. He stretched his hand to the back of the seat and pulled out a backpack. He took a sweater out and offered it to me. To be honest, right then I started to feel a little cold and took the offering. We both got down of the car so we could use the front seats. After adjusting mine to a more comfortable and safe distance from the windshield, he was about to start the engine when somebody knocked on his window. It was a police officer. James exhaled in concern and decided to roll down the window after the second knock. The officer bent over to see the inside and asked us to get down of the car. "Mac" was quick to excuse me, claiming that I was not feeling well. The officer's gesticulation showed that he didn't believe James, but at the last minute he gestured him to leave the car by himself. They walked a few feet towards a patrol in front of the car, the officer took a notepad out and they started to talk.

There were moments in which James pointed at me, then at the three men who attacked us, since a second officer was "escorting" them in handcuffs to the patrol. I was convinced that he was telling me off and I would get arrested as well. All kinds of thoughts ran through my head right then: mixed feelings and scape plans, but nothing happened. I couldn't move. I was too tired and scared for my body to react.

The officer and McCleod finished talking and started walking towards the car. James got up and the officer came to my window. Not waiting for him to knock, I rolled it down in resignation, thinking that he would ask me to get down of the beetle and handcuff me to take me with the others to the police station. "Miss", he started drily. In my mind, he was already saying the next words: "please, get out of the car, you'll have to come with me to the station". Since I was forbearing, I rested both hands on the door, waiting for him to put the handcuffs, "…I just hope you get well from your sickness. I just want to make sure: are you certain that you did not see what happened at all?". I was shocked. I didn't understand. "Are you sure that you were in the bathroom the whole time and didn't hear anything?", he continued. Since I understood that Mac made that up so I wouldn't get involved, I simply nodded. "I felt very sick, officer", I concluded.

He remained still for a moment and then he nodded softly. "Alright", he mumbled at last, "it won't be necessary to take your statement, young lady. You are free to go now", he added, saying the latter to James. After that, he got on the patrol and left. _Mac_ started the engine and we started out way back to my apartment. The whole journey we remained silent. Honestly, I didn't want to talk, or… maybe I was afraid to do it. I can only imagine that he noticed it, since he didn't look for a conversation either. I occasionally broke the silence to give him directions, but nothing else happened at the road.


	5. Epilogue: Souvenirs from the way back

**5\. Epilogue: Souvenirs from the way back home**

We finally arrived in the building where she lived. After turning off the engine, silence invaded the atmosphere almost completely. We looked at each other for a moment and when I was about to get off the car, Jennifer took my hand.

\- Do you think this will ever happen to me again, James? – She asked with clear sorrow.

\- I couldn't say, Jenn.

She sighed heavily and looked down. I pressed her hand to get her attention and she looked back at me.

\- If it ever does happen again – I said while giving her the lead jumble that used to be the bullet shot at her – I'm pretty sure we'll know how to handle it.

She managed to smile while taking my "gift". It was obvious that she was not convinced by my answer, but it was the only one I could give her right then. I got off the car and walked around it to open the door to my passenger. We entered the building and took the elevator to the eighth floor. When we got off the elevator, the hallway divided in two: to the right and across the elevator. We had to walk forward. The floor in the aisle was covered in carpets, so it was comfortable for her to walk barefooted. Besides, it was a bit narrow and the apartments were all to the right side. Her apartment was the third one, number 803.

She looked for the keys inside her purse and opened the door. As we crossed the threshold, she turned around and stopped in the middle of it, looking at me in the eye.

\- I owe you an apology – she mumbled.

\- Why?

\- When you were talking to the officer, I thought for a moment… - she stopped in doubt, but took a breath and continued – I was sure that you would turn me in and…well…I…

\- Don't worry – I interrupted -. It's understandable that you thought that but now you know that you can count on me.

She smiled back.

\- Would you like…? – She started with a bit of bashfulness in her voice, as her cheeks turned red.

\- No – I answered immediately, knowing that she was asking me inside.

Jennifer looked down, a bit disappointed.

\- It's just that – I added – I must return to my room. My landlord, Mr. Ditkovich, won't let me in if I arrive after 10:30 and I'd have to spend the night outside. Besides, I would be paying for a room I'm not using…

\- I understand – she softly giggled -. Then, see you tomorrow?

I nodded as I smiled to her. She blushed again while smiling back.

\- Same time – I added -. Same tree.

\- But make sure you watch your step this time.

We laughed for a while and then I said goodbye. I started walking to the elevator. Suddenly, Jennifer called me and ran towards me.

\- I almost forgot to return this – she said while handing me my sweater.

\- Thanks – I said while taking it.

\- No, James. Thank you.

After that, she kissed my cheek and returned to her apartment. The elevator arrived and I took it. The doors started to close as I pushed the button for the lobby.

\- James? – She called again, this time she just popped her head out of the door.

\- Yes? – I held the doors open.

\- Should somebody know about this?

That question really made sense, but it seemed dangerous to me to let someone else know about all that.

\- I don't think it's convenient, unless it's someone who can give us a real explanation.

\- OK, just wanted to check. Good night!

I released the "stop" button and the doors started to close again. She remained on her doorstep, watching me the whole time. I simply waved goodbye. When I reached the lobby, I left the building and got on the car to head back to 187 Chrystie Street. I felt a bit of remorse. I didn't tell the truth about not taking Jennifer's invitation to come inside her apartment. Truth is the landlord never said anything about my arrival times, but I didn't want to take advantage of Jennifer's trust. I didn't want to ruin things with her or make her think I was cashing it on her because of the circumstances.

I started the engine and headed back "home". I was remembering the whole way what had happened in the backseat. While she slept and I stroked her hair, everything seemed "normal", until that moment. All of a sudden, Jennifer pressed my right shoulder a little. She frowned a little, her face showed pain. It seemed for a moment that she was having a nightmare, so I tried to wake her up a couple times, but she didn't respond. Then she started breathing faster and faster. The light in one of the reflectors shined through the car's rear window and she was perfectly well lit. Her skin started to turn pale as the seconds went by. Her emerald green skin lightened each time more and more. When it came to a point where her skin was very pale, something even more incredible started to happen: her body began to reduce its size. The same thing happened to her hair, and it also turned brown. Her muscles relaxed as the process developed. In fact, it looked like her arms simply shrunk.

Only minutes later, the amazing transformation was over and Jennifer came back to be the same girl I had met hours before in the E.S.U. It was the most mind-blowing thing I had ever seen in my entire life. As soon as I entered my room, I took a bath and went to bed, but I wasn't able to sleep. I couldn't stop thinking about Jennifer. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw hers. Sometimes they were brown, sometimes emerald green. Since the moment I saw them for the first time, they had captivated me and I just couldn't stop thinking about them or their beautiful owner. I was still shocked by everything I had lived that night. I only knew that I was in love with a beautiful and very special girl. "

Little I imagined that that was only the first of many stories filled with danger that would happen to me and Jennifer and me, starting with what happened only three days later, but that, my friends, will be another part of this story…


End file.
